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Galbatorix
Galbatorix was the king of Alagaësia. Once a Dragon Rider, he eventually turned against the order and brought about their downfall, believing they had caused the death of his dragon. He made a rebellious and brutal group, the Forsworn, and then established the Empire. History At the age of ten, a dragon had hatched for Galbatorix. He was trained as a Dragon Rider. He was both proud and foolhardy, but his talent as a Rider was unsurpassed. He excelled at spellcasting, wizard-dueling, sword fighting, and guessing true names. "He was strong of body and mind." -Brom Madness Along with a few of his companions and their dragons, he entered the Spine out of arrogance. When their party was ambushed by Urgals, all were slain, except for Galbatorix. A stray arrow pierced the heart of his dragon Jarnunvösk. Without the knowledge to save his dragon, it died. Driven mad by the loss of his dragon, he wandered in the wild for weeks. He became so frightful in appearance that even the Urgals avoided him. Eventually, he headed back to the outer edge of the Spine. A farmer found him unconscious and summoned the Riders. He stood before the Elder Riders and demanded that they grant him a new dragon, but the wise Oromis saw the madness in him and persuaded the other Elders to deny his request. This effectively drove Galbatorix to further insanity and hatred. His mind twisted the previous events until Galbatorix believed that it was the Riders' fault that his dragon had died. Having completely convinced himself of this, he began plotting his twisted revenge. The Fall of the Riders He persuaded a sympathetic Rider to kill one of the Elders. When the deed was done, he then turned on his ally and slew him. He fled into the wild, biding his time. Eventually, using persistence and dark secrets taught to him by a Shade (probably Durza), he convinced a young Rider named Morzan to support his cause. Morzan aided him in capturing a black dragon named Shruikan and killing Shruikan's original Rider. Through the use of certain types of black magic, Shruikan was forced into servitude. This black magic may be Galbatorix was possessed by spirits and therefore turned into a Shade. This is highly unlikely, as Oromis had said there had never been a Rider who was also a Shade. , his (stolen) dragon.]] Besides Morzan, twelve other corrupted Riders came to serve Galbatorix. The thirteen together were known as the Forsworn, (or Wyrdfell to the Elves). With the Forsworn behind him, Galbatorix managed to defeat the other Riders, killing Vrael, head of the order. (However, it was stated that Vrael hesitated before the final blow on the gates of Doru Araba.)This brought an end to the peace the Riders had maintained in Alagaësia. The Empire Galbatorix and his followers defeated both the elves and the dwarves, both of whom afterward went into hiding. Galbatorix then captured Ilirea with the Forsworn, deposed and murdered King Argenost, the rightful ruler of the Broddring KingdomTechnically, the Broddring Kingdom still existed, but by the time of the Rider War it was little more than a name upon royal decrees. Most of those under Galbatorix's rule never even knew it existed., and took the title upon himself. His domain became known as the Empire. His rule through the books has been ruthless and cruel, and although much of the Empire stayed loyal, there is a small rebel group called the Varden. After Becoming King ]] After naming himself king of Alagaësia, he took an active role among the Empire. He then spent his time in his black castle in Uru'baen. We learned in Brisingr (book) that he spent forty years there, enslaving his horde of Eldunari. During this time, his Empire fell somewhat into chaos. After completely subjugating the spirits of the dragons confined in the Eldunari he had captured, Galbatorix then embarked on a vicious and brutal military campaign to restore order in the Empire. He continued to play an active role in the Empire's rule until two years prior to when Eragon's story began, upon which he retired to his castle in Uru'baen to research the "true name". He extended his friendship to Murtagh, son of Morzan, who had been living in his castle since the death of his parents. Murtagh accepted the offer, though knowing it would be unwise not to, having been seduced by Galbatorix's vision of turning the Empire into a Utopian society to benefit all Alagaesia, guarded and protected by a new order of Riders. Soon after, however, Galbatorix fell into a rage upon learning that rebels had intercepted and destroyed three brigades of Imperial troops, and commanded Murtagh to take a company of soldiers and decimate the village of Cantos, which was known to harbor the rebels. Murtagh refused the order when Galbatorix ordered him to slaughter the town's entire populace, and fled Urû'baen with his faithful teacher, Tornac. However, Galbatorix had anticipated this, and put soldiers to guard the gates to and from Uru'baen: Murtagh was able to fight his way free, but Tornac was killed in the struggle. Early Rider War Galbatorix hatched a plan to destroy the rebellion. Durza would lead an army of urgals including Nar Garzhvog, Gashz and Tarok to Farthen Dûr, where they would attack Tronjheim, crush the Varden, kill the Dwarf king and his clan chiefs, and then wreak havoc throughout the Beor Mountains, bringing the dwarves to heel, similtaneously weakening the Urgals and capturing Eragon and Saphira. The plan failed, and Galbatorix lost Durza and the support of the Urgals. After the Battle Under Farthen Dûr, Murtagh was captured by The Twins and brought before Galbatorix. Galbatorix was furious with Murtagh for spiting his protection and defying his will, but when one of Galbatorix's Dragon eggs hatched for Murtagh, Galbatorix made him his greatest general and taught him secrets of magic. However, Galbatorix also pried his true name from him and forced him and his dragon, Thorn, to swear allegiance to him in the Ancient Language. Plans for a New Order Galbatorix wished to reestablish the order of the Dragon Riders, bringing them under his control. In order to do this, he had need of Saphira, who was the last female dragon in existence. He sent Murtagh to The Burning Plains with orders to capture both Eragon and Saphira, but Murtagh had compassion for his younger half-brother and allowed him to escape. Later Rider War Galbatorix was again very angry with Murtagh for allowing them to escape, and when Eragon and Saphira killed the Ra'zac, Galbatorix slew five nearby servants in a rage and then turned his wrath on Murtagh and Thorn. Then, he deployed Murtagh and a group of his painless soldiers to Surda, with orders to bring Eragon and Saphira to him and to not show them mercy. However, Galbatorix's plan failed again when Eragon and Saphira drove Murtagh and Thorn away with the help of Arya and twelve other elves under the command of Blodgharm. When Galbatorix heard the elves were attacking the north of his Empire, he responded quickly, rather than waiting for them to come to him. Murtagh was sent to Gil'ead to confront the elves. While Oromis and Glaedr fought Murtagh and Thorn above Gil'ead, Galbatorix entered Murtagh's mind and asked Oromis to join him. Oromis refused, and the battle continued. Galbatorix swore to kill Oromis and take Glaedr's Eldunari. Unpredictably, Oromis had one of his spasms and Naegling was knocked from his hand. Galbatorix (through the possession of Murtagh) took advantage of the opening and rent Oromis from shoulder to hip with Zar'roc. Glaedr tried to get Oromis back to Gil'ead so Islanzadí's spellcasters could save him, but Oromis died before Glaedr could make it. Glaedr dove back into battle with Thorn, but the red dragon was too quick for him to defeat. Glaedr's physical body died as Thorn bit the back of his head/neck, killing him instantly. However, before departing for battle, he entrusted Eragon and Saphira with his Eldunari, and consequently kept himself free from Galbatorix's bondage. Role in the Eragon Movie Though Galbatorix has not yet physically appeared in the books, he did appear in the movie, portrayed by John Malkovich. Throughout the movie, he is seen giving orders to Durza. In his throne room in the movie, he has a dragon-like throne and a map nearby which, at the end of the movie, he cuts down, revealing Shruikan behind it. He's depicted as calm and very intelligent in the movie. He only shows frustration at the end after Durza's failure. Most of his backstory has been left out so far, and in addition to that, he aims to kill Eragon as well as Saphira, as opposed to trying to use Saphira to recreate the dragons like in the book. He did however refer to Saphira's egg as a stone, that he suffers without his stone, Durza was not to prolong his suffering. Physical appearence In the film, Galbatorix is portrayed as tall, thin and bald with a beard and long, curving nails akin to those of a Chinese Emperor. He dresses in black armour and has a long black cape, characteristic of villains in fiction. His physical appearance in the books may differ wildly as the film took a lot of creative liberties. Being made for instance. All that is known is that he has black eyes as Murtagh stated in Eragon. Personality Although he has not fully appeared yet, Galbatorix showed alot of his personality in Brisingr. He is seen as very manipulative with a genius level of intellect. It is shown that he is a man who hides his true persona behind another. He pretends to be a caring, forgiving and kind man, seeming to dedicate his life to Alagaesia's well-being, even having a vision for it's future. That is only a false persona however. In truth, he is a greedy, power-hungry man who will not stand treachary, even staking innocent lives for his cause. He in fact puts himself above Alagaesia, and has a fiery and unmerciful nature (he killed five nearby servants when learning of the Ra'zacs' death). We have yet to see and learn more of him, but it is clear that he is a domineering and merciless tyrant who hides his true nature from others, apparently with excellent skill. Motives There has been a great deal of discussion among fans, about whether or not Galbatorix truly is evil, or if does have good reasons for his actions. Some fans believe that his attempt to reestablish the Dragon Riders is proof of this theory. Others say he merely wants to rebuild the Riders to get more power to himself, and when he creates his new Empire, he and his Riders (Murtagh among them) would rule in tryanny like he and the Forsworn have. Some humans view him as a champion for their rights, who fights against elfish subjugation of humans. Powers and abilities Galbatorix is probably the most powerful magician in Alagaesia. With several hundred of the dragon's Eldunari under his control Galbatorix's magical and mental powers are close to unlimited. Although he is not strong enough to conquer the elves forest yet, the only reason the Varden, Surdans, and dwarves have not been destroyed or conquered is because Galbatorix has not yet bothered to leave his lair and fight them. It is possible that Galbatorix's power may still be increasing. It is said that his powers have been increasing each year. This may refer to his increase of strength during the forty year period that Galbatorix spent taking control over his Eldunaris. Weather Galbatorix's strength is still increasing remains unknown. In addition Galbatorix is shown to be a skilled military tactician and political maneuver and is adept at manipulating people and events. His insanity has evidently not had an effect on his intelligence. Galbatorix is also highly charismatic. Murtagh stated that he was "the most convincing and frightening man I've ever met." It is perhaps no coincidence that in the film Galabatorix is played by John Malkovich, an actor widely regarded to be charismatic Comparisons Galbatorix is comparable in characterization to Morgoth of "The Silmarillion", Sauron of The Lord of the Rings - as a "dark lord" and the primary antagonist of the work - and Emperor Palpatine of the Star Wars saga; he resembles Senator Palpatine (Darth Sidious) in his rise to power and unexpected overthrowing of the established order, replacing it with an Empire. Another character from Star Wars he resembles is Anakin Skywalker. He showed great skill, prowess, talent, and potential in his youth, was accepted into the ranks at a young age, gained incredible raw power as he matured, and eventually betrayed the order and slew many of his former comrades. In both cases, two of the principal causes were the death of someone close to him and being denied a request by the council. He can also be compared to Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter books. He was a dark lord with unparalleled skill in magic, especially in dark magic, and wanted to take over the world with the help of his servants,(The Forsworn/Death Eaters) whom he trained in his black arts. Galbatorix also experiments with vessels that hold souls, the Eldunari, just as Voldemort experimented with Horcruxes, which he could use to house his own soul. References and notes es:Galbatorix Category:Characters Category:Magic users Category:Humans Category:Dragon Riders Category:Imperials Category:Dark magic users Category:Royalty Category:Males